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Lockdown - what is going on ?

16K views 265 replies 24 participants last post by  Bevdeforges 
#1 ·
We are in lockdown...but not in lockdown.:unsure:

Everyone around here is going about their daily business. No one is in lockdown.

So what is going on ?

I reckon this is just a first step to get people used to the idea then things will tighten and tighten according to the stats.

What do you think ?
 
#9 ·
I think there is a general sense that things are going to be a bit "easier" through the weekend, due to people returning from the Toussaint holiday. Monday, however, things could start getting serious. Though it depends on the level of patrols and policing in your area. I went through the last lockdown without even once having to show my paperwork. DH got checked once (and then only because he was on a one way stretch of road where he couldn't turn around when he saw a line was forming).
 
#11 ·
We are in lockdown...but not in lockdown.:unsure:

Everyone around here is going about their daily business. No one is in lockdown.

So what is going on ?

I reckon this is just a first step to get people used to the idea then things will tighten and tighten according to the stats.

What do you think ?
Problem is you live in a bubble and have no idea who has to go to work etc. Your view of the world is based on your own household, which is not the real world for many. :rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
Strange that.

If you had watched France 2 news last night you would know what I am talking about.

They had footage of places across France. It looked very busy to me.

Largely because it seems most shops are open.

Strange lockdown given Covid is worse now than the spring outbreak.
 
#13 ·
Got back from walking my dog about half an hour ago.

On the way downstairs, came across an elderly neighbour who was getting into the lift to go to his letterbox. He was very worried and did not understand what is allowed and what is not, hasn't been able to access attestations.

Then I came across 3 friends in the park, all wearing masks and of course we maintained distance from each other. One had an attestation because they get the local paper and she cut it out from there. Another had hand-written, signed and dated a piece of paper to state she was out to exercise her dog, but we pointed out to her she had written in yesterday's date. The third didn't have one at all because she hadn't been able to access one. All were confused and very annoyed because of the complexity of trying to understand what is allowed and what is not. None were out longer than an hour, but one possibly lives slightly over 1 km away - she was particularly annoyed because she always has to take her dog outside because the garden of the HLM apartment block is locked and they refuse to give the key to anyone.

Apart from that, there were a few more people around because of people who had finished work and were taking the opportunity to exercise before dark.

There was 1 particularly agressive guy who came past us with 2 dogs - we all said to each other that most people seem particularly stressed right now.

Very little traffic for that time of day, which is part of peak 'hour' here.
 
#24 ·
Got back from walking my dog about half an hour ago.
I came across 3 friends in the park ..
All were confused and very annoyed because of the complexity of trying to understand what is allowed and what is not. None were out longer than an hour, but one possibly lives slightly over 1 km away - she was particularly annoyed because she always has to take her dog outside because the garden of the HLM apartment block is locked and they refuse to give the key to anyone.
What is with this idea of locked or inaccessible gardens ? We have friends who live in a super-duper flat in a résidence within 2 mins of Rennes historic centre. All of the 4 low-level blocks surround a most attractive good-sized, paved, treed (small varieties) and shrubbed garden .. to which there is no access at all. Only the maintenance man is allowed in there to keep it neat and tidy.
It's very nice to look at though ..
 
#17 ·
It's hard to judge the current lockdown since we're still in the "transition period" this weekend - to allow for folks returning home from their Toussaint holidays. But there are some "issues" being raised about bookshops being closed but not the book sections in the hypermarkets, etc, etc. Evidently the florists can remain open ("due to the Toussaint holiday") even though that seems a blatant violation of the precious "laïcité" doctrine but the hypermarkets were ordered to cordon off their florist sections.

I would expect things to get a little bit firmer come Monday (after the holiday) however the overarching concern seems to be that of "saving the economy" rather than eliminating the virus. I do think that when they don't get the desired results by the end of November, they are going to have to bite the bullet and forget about trying to "save the year-end holiday season" - by which they mean Christmas (again, the laïcité thing rears its ugly head).
 
#23 ·
It's hard to judge the current lockdown since we're still in the "transition period" this weekend - to allow for folks returning home from their Toussaint holidays. But there are some "issues" being raised about bookshops being closed but not the book sections in the hypermarkets, etc, etc. Evidently the florists can remain open ("due to the Toussaint holiday") even though that seems a blatant violation of the precious "laïcité" doctrine but the hypermarkets were ordered to cordon off their florist sections.

I would expect things to get a little bit firmer come Monday (after the holiday) however the overarching concern seems to be that of "saving the economy" rather than eliminating the virus. I do think that when they don't get the desired results by the end of November, they are going to have to bite the bullet and forget about trying to "save the year-end holiday season" - by which they mean Christmas (again, the laïcité thing rears its ugly head).
The laïcité thing doesn't raise its ugly head if you understand what laïcité actually is and the history of how it came into place. Granted, terrorists could use Toussaint and Christmas (and Easter) as times to commit attacks.
 
#30 ·
And honestly, I can't imagine that paper and printer ink will put that big a dent in your family budget. Besides, don't all your family members (possibly excluding the youngest one) have mobile phones. They can always generate a necessary attestation on the phone to avoid the damage to the environment.

One funny thing I noticed was that this morning I went to the government site to check which version of the attestation was "current" - and when I downloaded what was supposed to be the "attestation de déplacement dérogatoire" I got the Sesame Street version. And it's still there: https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/attestation_de_deplacement_derogatoire.pdf
I may have to make a few copies of this one just for fun...
 
#31 ·
One funny thing I noticed was that this morning I went to the government site to check which version of the attestation was "current" - and when I downloaded what was supposed to be the "attestation de déplacement dérogatoire" I got the Sesame Street version. And it's still there: https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/attestation_de_deplacement_derogatoire.pdf
I may have to make a few copies of this one just for fun...
Uploaded especially for Smeggie. 😂😂
 
#49 ·
Attestations aside, you also have to keep an eye out for arrêtés issued by your Prefect. :cautious::(
Last time around I got texted via my prefecture notifying me of confinement.
This time, nothing. Neither for the curfew nor the confinement.
It should all be displayed on the mairie's notice boards however.

I picked up via the website Reporterre
that our dear préfète had decreed that street markets here were to be limited to 100 people maximum
but of course super & hypermarkets had no limit to respect.

Stupid question but here I go: does confinement override curfew? I've not seen any info on that ...
 
#61 ·
This from France Inter this morning

"Mais au total, oui, il y a quelque chose d’absurde à fermer un salon de coiffure et un magasin de jouets où travaillent un ou deux indépendants prudents dans un village de France, alors que, entre autres, un million d'enseignants et des millions de collégiens et de lycéens se retrouvent ce matin.Mais au total, oui, il y a quelque chose d’absurde à fermer un salon de coiffure et un magasin de jouets où travaillent un ou deux indépendants prudents dans un village de France, alors que, entre autres, un million d'enseignants et des millions de collégiens et de lycéens se retrouvent ce matin."
 
#62 ·
There was an interesting piece on TF1 the other night about organizations that are helping small shops set up their online presence/business so that they can sell stuff for pick-up or for delivery. Obviously this won't help the hairdressers, but for the bookshops and other local businesses, this should help them maintain some level of business and allow people to support the local merchants.

One of the towns nearby owns several of the small shops in the town center and rents them out at moderate rates to local small businesses. Perhaps they should extend this by setting up a "shopfront" website where they could encourage the local small shops to set up sales sites. They could even establish a shared pick-up point - near the mairie, or perhaps at the town marché. This isn't going to be just for the next 4 weeks - and when the confinement is lifted, things aren't going back to "normal" so this would be a way to help the small businesses for the longer term.
 
#64 ·
This isn't going to be just for the next 4 weeks - and when the confinement is lifted, things aren't going back to "normal" so this would be a way to help the small businesses for the longer term.
Very true, I bought the Sud Oeust on Saturday and there are some shop owners in Perigueux getting online to try to stay afloat. Would be great if people used them and not American nightmares like Amazon.
 
#65 ·
I don't think my dog groomer will be able to sell online, and he doesn't have a vehicle so can't do home grooming like some hairdressers. Such a shame, he has only been taking one client at a time and clients drop off their dog or cat and return to pick them up. There are many people like me who can't manage the full grooming themselves.

Some people are going to get caught without sufficient warm clothes or shoes that can be repaired instaead of replace.

Yet again, the government (and others) thinks everyone can do online shopping.
 
#67 ·
I don't think my dog groomer will be able to sell online, and he doesn't have a vehicle so can't do home grooming like some hairdressers. ...

Yet again, the government (and others) thinks everyone can do online shopping.
There is no one solution that is going to work for everyone. This is just one possibility to give small local businesses the option to sell online and to be identified as part of a local or town-related endeavor. And a way for the local government to support and promote their small merchants.
 
#66 ·
On the subject of needing colours to print B/W I think this is the story:

Even a black/white form uses a small number of colour pixels around the edges of the letters to fool the eye into thinking the printing is smooth. A bit like the dots on newsprint fool the eye into thinking it's a proper photo.

One thing to try (I've got no way to test if it works) is this: when you click "Print/select a printer" there is usually a button somewhere which says "Properties". Go to Properties and select "Print in Greyscale". (There might be an option to print in greyscale on the first window that comes up, to select the printer). That should (if the universe was fair ... ) only use black ink, at the cost of a minimal loss of quality in the result.

Good luck. I'd be glad to know if it works ...

Edit Afterthought: I suppose that might not work if you only have one printer cartridge that deals with colour and black. I've only ever had printers with a colour cartridge and a black ink cartridge.
 
#70 ·
What a mess the government is making of its communication! There will be a curfew added, there won't be a curfew (etc.).

It's effectively the Conseil de Défence and the President who are in charge, not the government's porte parole (who knows perfectly well he cannot make such announcements, nor Jean Castex for that matter, unless he has the OK from the President.

The reality, though, is IMO that they have little or no idea what to do.
 
#75 ·
The reality, though, is IMO that they have little or no idea what to do.
You may be right on that point. Have been doing a bit of looking around on the Internet and from what I've seen, the proposed curfew is largely because people (mostly young people I'm sorry to say) have been flouting the shutdown rules. There are apparently complaints of late night parties in some areas - which are exactly the sort of thing that the lockdown rules don't seem to deal with.

The rule in Germany is no more than 10 people from no more than 2 different households can gather in a private residence. But again, how are you going to enforce that one other than by getting the neighbors to rat people out - and that cuts against all grain here in France.
 
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